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Stringbedco is a family business located in Port Dickson in Malaysia where they have their own showrooms and workshops. They have been making their furniture for many years now and are dedicated to ensuring that their pieces represent the highest quality furniture and employ their own highly skilled craftsmen and women to produce their stunning pieces.
What is a Charpoy?
The Charpoy or Manja is a traditional handmade piece of furniture which has been popular throughout the Indian sub-continent for hundreds of years where it has been used as a bed and daybed with the prominent feature being a traditional woven bed area. Stringbedco have revived this ancient weaving craft and adapted it using high grade materials, to create a contemporary range of supremely comfortable, versatile and functional furniture that can be used in any part of your home while retaining a genuinely ethnic feel to this ancient craft. These original pieces can be used as a daybed – just perfect for conservatories, patios, beds or guest beds fitting under one another or in your lounge as seating with a difference! Dress them in throws, pile cushions on them and make them suit any décor you want!
The Magic is in the Weave……
The frames are made from Balua, a dense rich tropical hardwood and from reclaimed high grade timber. All timber is sourced from only licensed suppliers. The frame is handmade using only mortice and tenon joints (no nails or screws) as such these fabulous pieces do not come flatpacked! The wood is air dried (very important for the long lasting strength of the timber) sealed and lacquered with sanding between coats to give a deep rich finish. The weaving is a highly skilled craft which involves 4 people working together to bring about the pattern and tension. As an example, the weave on the Maharaj (the largest standard size Charpoy in the range) will take an equivalent of 28 hours for one weaver to complete. The stringing is very robust and will not lose its tension and beauty. As each Charpoy is handmade with both the frame and the weave it makes each one totally unique.
The Range
There are 3 standard sizes to the range and they are designed to fit under one another so you can create nests of two or three. Approximate sizes are as follows:
The Maharaj (71 cm high, 219 cm length, 106cm wide)
The Luxman (59 cm high, 198 cm length, 102 cm wide)
The Ashoka (38 cm high, 173 cm length, 84 cm wide)
The Maya is a matching bench seat (34 cm high, 109 cm length, 62 cm wide)
The Piri is a matching footstool (56 cm x 56 cm and 34 cm high)
You can choose from two different leg shapes round or square tapered.
You can even have a Charpoy made to your individual requirements, maybe to fit a particular space you may have (in which case please contact us).
We can also supply mattresses to fit each Charpoy and a range of throws and cushions to make your Charpoy truly one of a kind.
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| Kalamkari Art |
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A Development of Weavers and Rural Artisans in Kalamkari Art has been formed as a non-profit organisation and the initiative of the Ramanarpanam Trust. It has been responsible for re-establishing artisans in and around the villages of the temple town of SriKalahasthi, nurturing their innate talent and potential, and making communities empowered, self-reliant and sustainable.
It has brought about a revival of the Kalamkari art, which would have otherwise faded and perished due to the poverty that these village artisans faced. The products made by the Kalamkari artisans of Srikalahasthi range from apparel, stoles, scarves and ties, bags, paintings and art for wall decor, home décor and corporate items.
Hand painted Kalamkari art is a complex and time consuming technique and the resultant designs are intricate, unique and beautiful. A combination of plant materials are used as natural vegetable dyes on textiles. It involves kneading fabric in a large pot of milk and then painting on the dried fabric using burnt tamarind twigs that are sharpened into "kalams" or quill like pens. The range of natural colours comes from natural ingredients including pomegranate seed, mango bark, indigo, and myrobolan fruit.
The end result of this process is a stunningly-beautiful art form and paintings that come alive in a myriad of hues. The artisans use their imagination and skill to depict the culture of ancient India, making each hand painted Kalamkari work on cloth a unique one. The end result is always a piece of art by itself. Hand painted kalamkari is an exclusive art historically and traditional kept going only at Srikalahasthi. This is the only co-operative effort and platform keeping this traditional art alive.
The artisans of Srikalahasti are creating kalamkari on almost all kinds of fabrics including natural silks, crepes, tussores, organza, cotton and linen. Jagamanja UK market a range of Kalamkari products.
The organisation has particularly helped women develop their skills and hone their innate talent in kalamkari art, breaking the male bastions and establishing sustainable avenues of work. Through this the women can become economically independent with a steady source of income to support their families.
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Own a Kalamkari - be part of the revival! |
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| TASAR Silk Scarves |
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Our silk scarves are sourced through an Tassar Silk Project. The project works in selected villages in 26 districts across 7 states, promoting and strengthening livelihoods for the rural poor working with artisans in Jharkand, Orissa, Chhatisgarh, and Bhagalpur. Each step of the production process supports artisan livelihoods.
The Tasar silk worm feeds only on live trees outdoors and is susceptible to the vagaries of nature. So much so that each cocoon's colour reflects its unique exposure to the elements of nature. Consequently the natural look and texture of fabrics woven from tasar yarn defies replication by manmade fibres making it one of the most coveted silks among the lovers of natural fabrics. Designs are sourced from Indian designers of repute from prestigious national design acadamies. Popular usage of tasar has a far reaching positive impact on the environment and on the livelihood of tribal and rural poor of India. For example; 100 metres of tasar fabric ensures the livelihood for: 1 tribal family for 2 months -1 spinner family for 4 months - 1 weaver family for 2 months and a tribal family that finds sustainable livelihood from tasar cocoon rearing desists from selling firewood for a livelihood equivalent to saving 12 to 15 trees from being cut. The sale of one scarf gives an artisan a livelihood for 2 days
The project trains people how to produce and sell disease-free eggs of tasar moths to silk rearers. The rearers, in turn, receive credit and new equipment to aid cocoon rearing. Rearers then sell their cocoons to yarn producers. Women in Bihar, Jharkand and Chattisgargh then process the cocoons into yarn The final step of this beautiful process is the sale of the yarn to a group of 1,000 women weavers in Bhagalpur who weave the yarn into exquisite fabrics, including scarves, stoles and shawls as marketed by Jagamanja UK.
The Gramshree organsiation is in Gujarat, India
It was formed in 1995, initially to work with underprivileged women to help empower them through self reliant activities. Today, working with around 400 women, they endeavour to raise the social status of women from disadvantaged backgrounds, and artisans, through income generation activities. They provide the women with training in marketable skills such as embroidery, patchwork and textile painting which develops their creativity and self-sufficiency.
The sale of their products supports the Gramshree aim not just to generate incomes but also to remove lines of prejudice, injustice and poverty by focusing on healthcare, nutrition education and family welfare.